Pete Buttigieg, the Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is forming an exploratory committee for a 2020 presidential bid, the Associated Press reports. Buttigieg, 37, says in an announcement video: “The reality is there’s no going back, and there’s no such thing as ‘again’ in the real world. We can’t look for greatness in the past.” The local politician gained a national profile when he unsuccessfully ran for Democratic National Committee chairman in 2017, saying the party needed a new start. His message for 2020 seems similar, saying that Democrats need to look to a new generation of leaders to unseat President Donald Trump. If the long-shot candidate were to win the Democratic nomination, he would become the first openly gay presidential nominee from a major political party.
I launched a presidential exploratory committee because it is a season for boldness and it is time to focus on the future. Are you ready to walk away from the politics of the past?
